Approximate Membership

1.6 million population

Membership Cost

Free

Central Auckland Research Centre is a reference only library on the second floor of Central City Library, Auckland.

It holds the largest Family History collection in a New Zealand public library, and is considered to hold a collection of equivalent status nationally and internationally to the holdings within a National or State library.

It has held certification as a Family History Library from Family Search (LDS) since 2003.

The Central Auckland Research Centre’s collection is supported and supplemented, by the “Sir George Grey Special Collections”, a heritage collection of international significance.

Amongst many other things, it contains early settler records, letters, diaries, manuscripts etc from Sir George Grey’s time as governor both in New Zealand and in Australia.

Auckland Libraries' has a commitment to future digitisation of its collections, and several of its historical collections have been digitised already and are available as searchable databases online. Auckland Library databases are free to use by all via the website.

All Auckland Libraries have access to Ancestry and FindMyPast UK. Access to our eResources and database is available freely via your laptop via the WiFi network, as well as by using the free public PCs we have available in the library.

Make the most of your research time by bringing a memory stick to save images to, and a digital camera, as alot of our items are unable to be photocopied for conservation reasons.

The Research Centre and SGGSC are open to any, and all, visitors, at no cost, and with no requirement for membership to Auckland Libraries.

Central Auckland Research Centre holds fortnightly family history sessions on a Wednesday between 12 noon and 1pm, starting on February 8, 2012 until the end of November.

The Research Centre also offers a research service to those unable to research for themselves.